May 15, 2007 11:05pm by Steve | 
I’ve spent a lot of time lately attempting to find the best solution for keeping leaves and plant material out of our gutters. We currently have *no* gutters on the house due to the renovation. I don’t simply want to install open gutters and leave it at that, because the house is so tall now that I have no way to reach the gutters for cleaning.
So I’ve been investigating solutions. There are TONS of them. Everyone seems to either love or hate any one particular solution. And most people agree that none of them work perfectly… and some don’t work at all. Here are a few that I have looked at.
Leaf Guard
Gutter Maxx
Leaf Filter
Gutter Filter
Gutter Stuff
Gutter Brush
Alcoa Leaf Relief
DIY options
We had Gutter Maxx come out and give us an estimate. GutterMaxx is like the next generation of LeafGuard. It looks like a quality product, but the price is ridiculous. For the ~100 feet of gutters (with all the pipes, downspouts, etc.) and the GutterMaxx topper, they wanted $4500. We talked them down to $3600, but that is still way more than our original open-gutter-only complete quote of $1200.
Today I had the local representative for Alcoa Leaf Relief come out to give an estimate. I wasn’t please by his unprofessional appearance and the fact that he seemed to work out of a station wagon packed with work stuff. I think that the Alcoa product is exactly what we need, but I’m wary about working with this particular guy.
No estimate back yet, but he indicated that Leaf Relief “isn’t the cheapest solution on the market.” Great. According to many other sources, this product *should* cost about $5-7 per linear foot, bringing us to $700 for installation on top of $1200 for the gutters themselves… for a total of $1900. Let’s see what he comes back with. I predict that it will be in the $3000 range. If so, I will laugh in his face.
Oh, and I did some research regarding the Alcoa 10-year No-Clog guarantee. It’s basically useless because it only kicks in if the INTERIOR of the gutters clog. If you’ve seen the product, it will be obvious that this isn’t its weak point. I have no doubt that the interiors will stay clear. The potential failure point of Leaf Relief is debris piling up on top of the perforation such that water runs off the top of the gutters. Sure they aren’t clogged, but they aren’t working either! There is NO guarantee that this won’t happen.
=== UPDATE ===
1.5 years after posting my thoughts on gutter leaf protection I went to Home Depot and paid $50 for a stack of Do-it-Yourself gutter guards. I installed them in about 1 hour and here it is, a month later, and they are working absolutely fine.
The bottom line is that the gutter protection “industry” is not worth your time and money. Just do it yourself.
=== UPDATE 2 ===
I’ve now had my Home Depot DIY plastic gutter filters installed for about 8 months and they are working flawlessly! Seriously. The leaves and debris just blow off my roof and filters. I’ve lifted the filters off of the gutters and looked inside. Totally clean with the smallest amount of grit that doesn’t even require a thought.
Why oh why didn’t I install these things from day one?
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Has anybody tried rain handler? I just had GutterMax come out for an estimate. I should have known better when he pulled out his huge bag and a notebook and launched into a history of the company and praised the soundness of the product. At one point I cut him off to just give me the estimate. I live in a 2200 sq. ft, one story home. I was expecting an estimate of $2000, maybe $3000 if there was some extra stuff needed. When he finally showed me $6700 I nearly fell out of my chair. So I started looking on websites for a realistic solution and the rainhandler website intrigues me. However, this is the first research I’ve ever done and thought some of you might have some opinions on the rainhandler idea.
Wow, only 8 months have went by and your sold on plastic screens? Give them a couple years and watch how they crack, bust, and fall apart. Nothing plastic last too long outside in the conditions. Their are many options available for leaf/gutter protection. It all depends on the debris your dealing with. We offer 3 different products to satisfy our customers budget and gutter protection needs.
The post to which you are referring was written in May of 2007. It has now been exactly 1.5 years since I installed the Home Depot plastic screens for a total of $50.
THEY ARE WORKING PERFECTLY.
I periodically check my gutters and am still amazed that I haven’t had to clean them in 1.5 years. You can keep your $5000 Gutter Protection Systems(tm), and I’ll keep my money, thank you.
my home depot plastic ones worked great for 3 years and one day they were cloged with slimmy stuff that got in and degraded and started to stink, wow stink. dont do the h.d. crap, i regret it
I am not impressed with the comments that I’ve found. I would like to find and install a gutter system that does what it says. Can anyone refer me to definitive and scientific test results?
1. Plastics are affected by exteame weather conditions and UV rays…
2. Aluminum is by far a better choice.
3. Roof water protection is as importent as leaves and other small objects (fine wire mesh is efected by polin and mildow and requiers maintenance). Snow (turns to ice).
4.Installation: Simplicity: installation/removal with only a screw driver.
5. Cost effetivness (do it yourself).
As design engineer I researched all those problems and came up with a product that will very well will be the answer to the above problems.
Will be glad to send you info. of my procuct.
arie_raviv@hotmail.com
Had GutterMaxx guy out two weeks ago and for 205 running ft. of gutter plus 11 downspouts (their so-called ‘oversized’) he started @ $6600. When I told him that I was born at night, but NOT last night, he came down to $4400. Checked Big Box story and aluminum gutters run about $1/ft. Called him back and told him maybe $10-15/ft. He calls back with a $14.65 ft. I’m saying to myself, well now we’re getting somewhere. Now the punch line: $14.65/ft. for the gutters AND 215 ft. of ‘oversized’ spouts – back to the $6600.
HA! HA!
I have had Guttermaxx products on my house for eight years and have recently had a problem with them getting clogged with pine needles. The company advertises they will clean the gutters if they ever clog. Here is where my problems begin, I have spoken to the company headquarters in Houston on four separate occasions and have been promised someone will be out to take of the problem; it has been 21 days since my first call and still no resolution. BEWARE DON’T PAY THE HIGHER PRICE FOR THIS PRODUCT THEY DO NOT STAND BEHIND WHAT THEY SELL.
OK so after reading ALL of these posts, and laughing at a few, I just had to respond. I have been in the leaf protection industry for 11 years. I will say that ANY product that is vinyl or plastic based WILL FAIL in extreme conditions, (temps that vary more than 40 degrees). If yor going to put a leaf protection system on your home, PLEASE use a NON Screened, Aluminum one. I have worked for the big boys and yes the prices are a bit higher than DIY’ers, But if you deal with a reputable franchisee, the Warrantees and worry free days are WELL worth it. If your having problems with you franchisee, Call your corporate office, have the estimated month and year your product was installed and by whom. Let them know they have 45 days (as required by most states), to come visit your home with an apointment, and you will be glad to be there to answer any questions they have. If they Do not honor this timeline, and they dont have a legitimate reason, contact your local District Attourneys Office and file a fraud and breach of Written agreement claim against them.
i hope this helps you out, and to Mr SWOOD, You and I both know that you have experienced some problems becaus there is NO product made that never has an issue. Any sales rep, demonstrator, marketer, or person that says thier is completely maintenance free, is lying. NO SYSTEM n the market today is completely maintenance free.
- Signed The Gutter Protection Information Man
I appreciate your thoughtful response! However, I am perfectly happy with my $50 box of Home Depot gutter screens as depicted in my original post. They have been installed and maintenance free for 2.5 years so far. Anyone who pays more than $500 to $1000 to outfit their home with “professional” gutter protection is either ignorant or a fool.
Entire industries thrive on consumer ignorance due to fabricated complexity and manufactured “need”. The leaf protection industry is one of them… right alongside weddings, carpeting, HVAC, and automobiles.
HELLO DAREL , WHAT KIND DO YOU RECCOMMEND AND WHERE CAN I PURCHASE THEM ? THANK YOU NICK G
My company has over 44,000 installations of gutters and gutter protection systems. Our installers have removed thousands of cheap and expensive gutter protection systems. Many homes do not need any, other need a serious type of gutter protection. Pending on what type of trees, how close they are, how tall they are and even on what side of the house they are. To claim your Home depot gutter covers are going to continue to work great means one of two things: naive or really don’t have much of need for gutter protection. Home Depot and Lowe’s are really just “replacement’ stores…. what you buy there you will have to “replace”. Buy from the real trade contractors that work for builders and you will get higher quality and workmanship, not the “Bull” and high pressure that Sales organizations that call themselves contractors install quality.
That’s fine. I will gladly replace my $50-$100 worth of Home Depot guards every 5 years. I’ll still come out thousands of dollars ahead. We’ve got 4 massive trees that dump on our home in the fall, 2 Pin Oaks, 1 Maple and 1 Cherry. We went without gutter protection for about 5 years and the gutters were simply packed full of leaves. It was only after we put a new addition on the house that it dawned on me to do something about the gutters. The el-cheapo Home Depot gutter guards have been working like a champ for a few years now. Couldn’t be happier.
I took my family to Disney World instead of spending the $3000 on hit-or-miss gutter “technology”. Hah.
Oh, and check out http://TheGutterClub.com for expanded reviews and field reports of the most popular gutter protection systems.
SWOOD,
Your posts are right on the money. I put the Home Depot, or Lowes 3ft plastic guards on my house over 15 years ago. Of course time and the tides will degrade the plastic, but I’m here to tell you they are doing fine after 15 years (bought them brown and they’re a little bleached.) I had and have the same attitude as you – when they need to be replaced I’ll gladly pony up the hundred bucks and replace them (whenever that’s going to be.)
The hot topic seems to be whether the $50 box store solution will work. I have those guards on my 68′ barn as well as on part of my house for testing. Right now I am looking for replacements. They plastic guards worked great for about two years. By that time they were cracking, warping and pulling loose from the gutters. The curious squirrels had also learned that they could chew holes in the plastic and go investigating throughout my gutter systems. Now it is a real pain to try to keep debris out from under the guards and I WILL replace the plastic ones with something that will last. The concept is good. The solution not permanent enough to suit me.
Thanks for the great field report. I’ve had the Home Depot stuff on my gutters for 3 years now and they are still working fine. Perhaps I might find cracking or something upon closer inspection. I’ll check them out next spring. Fall just finished here and all the leaves are gone from the trees. I didn’t have to do a single thing with respect to my gutters. Never put up a ladder, never even looked at them. Before these guards I would have been up on the ladder for a full gutter cleaning once a month for 3 months.
Hey everybody, I put my Home Depot screens in 18 months ago, and they are holding up well AND we have extra tall oak trees out the wazoo all around the house, when the acorns pop in the fall it’s a squirrel disneyland. Bottom line is I did find one crack after a year, right where someone clearly punched a hammer head shaped hole (could it have been the roofing inspector ‘insulted’ by a DIY job or a hammer wielding squirrel – you decide). I kept a couple extra vinyl sections, easy to cut out a small section and replace the damaged part I cut out. Just leave about 1/2 inch overlap on each side. The gutter install business is expensive because people who climb heights and walk on roofs deserve the extra hazardous duty pay. But if you can easily DIY, it’s pretty silly to hire some one. The vinyl used nowadays is much better weather resistent then ten years ago, and easy to swap out any damaged pieces. Listen to those who contest my argument as they use emotive language or other laungusge intensifyers to reflect the fact they know their argument is not well founded in ‘ground truth’.
I installed the Home Depot screen covered plastic gutter guards over two years ago. Maintenance free!! I too am willing to replace them every 4-5 years if necessary. The biggest problem I had was the “propellers” from maple trees, I had to scoop out bucket loads in the spring. Now – no problem.
Just moved to a new house without gutters. I think this discussion has convinced me that open gutters with cheap plastic covers are the way to go.
If the gutter guard companies would charge reasonable prices I think it might be an option, but at most a covered gutter should only cost twice as much. All the labor is the same and the material is no more than double.
Ok, so dyer reading our post I did my own research. I had estimates from all the “Big Boys” in the gutter protection industry, I had leafgurad $3600.00, guttermaxx $3250.00, leavesout $2975.00, gutter guard $4100.00, leaf filter $3100.00, Gutter Helmet $3200.00 & Alcoa (4 diff products from screens to hoods) $2950.00
After checking the BBB, insurance commission, HBA, ABA & the Local District attorneys office, after calling the Good Housekeeping association to “verify claims of money back guarantees” (what a bunch of crap), and after calling Numerous refferrences provides by each vendor, the one thing that stuck out to me was the company and product we chose worked the best, the warrantee and service departments were The best, the customer service was the best and the workers sent to install the product seemed to really know what they were doing.
We Chose Gutter Helmet, of Western North Carolina. We have had our system for over 6 years now and it is still working perfectly. We have a steep metal roof, no run off, we have tons of pin oaks and pine trees, gutters are still very clean. The salesman was professional, NO PRESSURE, took his time and answered ALL of our questions. He took the time to walk us around and point out things that needed to be addressed, things that he didn’t have to share, like drainage swails, where and how to best use a rain barrel, how we DIDN’T need the 6″ gutter everyone else had been trying to sell us. He was genuine, sincere and Honest. A definate man of integrity. If your looking for the best of the best, installed professionally, and sold by experts, call them, Gutter Helmet of Western North Carolina. They will take great care of you.
No I’m not an employee or paid spokesperson, just a VERY satisfied customer.